Civil Engineering Professional Engineer Practice Exam

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Prepare for the Civil Engineering Professional Engineer Test. Use flashcards and multiple-choice questions, complete with hints and detailed explanations. Achieve success on your exam!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.

Which structure does not carry the weight of the building?

Structural frame
Curtain wall
Foundation
Load-bearing walls

The correct answer is: Curtain wall

A curtain wall is a non-structural cladding system for the exterior walls of buildings. Its primary role is to serve as a façade that protects the building from environmental elements while allowing for natural light to enter the interior spaces. Unlike structural elements, which bear loads from the building above, a curtain wall does not contribute to the structural integrity of the building by carrying any weight from floors or the roof. In contrast, structural frames, foundations, and load-bearing walls are essential components that support and distribute the building's weight. Structural frames are designed to carry loads, foundations transfer the load to the ground, and load-bearing walls directly support weights from the roofs and floors. This distinction is crucial in understanding the role of various building systems when designing and constructing structures.